#FX | MidiMike

Posts Tagged ‘#FX’

American Indian – An Instrumental

Posted: June 10, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #American Indian, #atari, #audio, #creative, #demo, #different, #digital, #equipment, #FX, #guitar, #inspiration, #inspire, #itunes, #keyboard, #midimike, #mixingboard, #motivation, #music, #musicequiptment, #musician, #Native American, #observation, #opinion, #performance, #performer, #personal, #piano, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #story, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #tech, #writer, #Yamaha

I don’t mind acknowledging that I am different than a lot of the people I know and hear about.

I am PERFECTLY OK with this. I know my music and lyrics are not the typical main-stream songs blasted everywhere. I will not appear on any searches. Growing up and watching all the Westerns and TV shows, I never – not even once – wanted to be the cowboy or the soldier. I identified with the ‘good guys’ as most kids do, but to me the cowboys and soldiers were not the only good guys. I identified more with the American Indians living with nature rather than conquering.

I am not sure what exactly inspired this song when I started it. I often think about music videos and how that could help explain through images some of the themes in this musical piece. Possibly the new toys that could make sounds that added less traditional Western culture ideas and more ethnic and international instruments. I also like contrapuntal rhythms and themes, so you will hear a lot in these pieces.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/touch-down/id962542289

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 16 – Coke or Pepsi? Mac or PC?

Posted: May 27, 2015 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, music technology, technology
Tags: # mixer, #atari, #audio, #band, #bass, #creative, #demo, #digital, #drummer, #drums, #effects, #equipment, #FX, #genres, #guitar, #keyboard, #life, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #Mac, #microphone, #Midi, #midimike, #mixing board, #mixingboard, #monitors, #motivation, #music, #musicequipment, #musician, #performance, #performer, #piano, #recording, #recordingstudio, #reverb, #runningsound, #signal, #singer, #singing, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #tech, #tips, #vocalist, #vocals, #Yamaha

The sound board or audio mixer represents the hub in most audio mixing and mastering functions. everything connects to the board. Even the lighting system will use channels in the snake to connect from stage to console. Things get plugged into and things get plugged out of the mixer as needed. Today’s mixers are blue tooth USB WiFi fire-wired and light-piped together and will connect to an amazing array of devices. So far we have focused on what gets plugged to the Inputs of the sound board. There are a number of connection possibilities for the Outputs as well. We have already discussed some of them earlier, so this can be brief as you already know a lot of this in general.

On most sound boards you have a number of analog-out options. In earlier discussions we talked about XLR and 1/4″ cables and connectors. These will continue to be the main ones used for outputs. On the front or face of most mixing boards you will see a stereo headphone out. It will usually have its own volume knob and probably a selector to pick the options to Monitor including Stereo Out, Solo, Effects Sends, Effects Returns, Sub or Groups, Auxiliary Returns, and other options. On the back or the top of the mixing board you will see the panel for Out-put connections in different sections. There are some rules to determine what type of Audio Cable is used and whether it is a male end or female end and whether it has two connectors or three (or more).

In the early days of mixing boards, microphones and keyboards, it was important which brand you purchased. If you wanted to get ‘that sound’ you had to have this mixing board channel strip or that particular keyboard. Later on the computer industry similarly shot through their early days and you had the Macintosh or the Windows PC. If you were brought up with one you could not be talked into the other. Most modern equipment from PC’s to Automobiles can do everything. They all have similar platforms and emulators. There is style and quality as there always will be, but you can get software mixing programs and microphone/guitar emulator plugins that will make your audio tracks sound like anything you want —-THEY CAN EVEN MAKE YOU SOUND LIKE YOU ARE SINGING IN TUNE!!

So if you like Pepsi, no problem. Want Coke? Press this button…… More comfortable using a Mac? Go for it.

All it takes is cash, a thorough understanding of what all the terms mean and a good idea where all the buttons are?!!?

Enjoy!

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 15 – And the other 20%

Posted: May 18, 2015 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, music technology
Tags: # mixer, #atari, #audio, #band, #bass, #digital, #drummer, #drums, #FX, #guitar, #keyboard, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #microphone, #Midi, #midimike, #mixingboard, #monitors, #music, #musician, #performance, #performer, #piano, #recording, #recordingstudio, #reverb, #runningsound, #signal, #singer, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #tech, #vocalist, #vocals, #Yamaha

I am famous for doing things the easy way and if I can, as cheap as possible. Now that does not mean forget quality and versatility. It means I won’t spend money on gadgets that I don’t need. I try to run as clean a mix as possible, and making sure everyone gets heard. If they are up there ‘playin it‘, I want the audience to hear it. In reality, it doesn’t take a lot of gadgets to accomplish those two major things; make it sound good and loud enough for the venue, and put all instruments/vocals/strings/spoons or tambourines, I don’t care what it is…. in the mix. As a band member, hiring sound guys and their rigs, a number of times after sound check and a few songs of the first set, my microphone was turned down so low, no one could hear me even in-between songs. I could not get the sound man’s attention, or anyone else’s for that matter because no one could hear me (and as a keyboard player I was usually in the back corner of the stage in the shadows Ha!). So eventually I just adjusted the microphone stand down toward the floor in front of me. It is easy to hit the wrong button or turn the wrong knob; happens all the time.

Remember that the sound guy cannot hear what is really happening up on stage. Sometimes you THINK you can. But you as the sound engineer should be the first person to know what is going wrong when it does. Keep an eye on all performers – they will look to you first. As a performer and studio guy, I could tell when the guitar player broke a string, or if the drum head split and when or if the drummer had too much to drink on his birthday gig. Things will go wrong but a lot of the time it is the sound guy. You make an adjustment and grab the wrong knob. They all look alike in the dark part of the venue or room. The consequences can be anything from a non-event to a full blown crisis, depending on which knob you grab. Obviously for the extreme crisis, you will know right away what happened and will probably be able to correct quickly.

It is the slow creepy ones that will get you. Two songs later something changes on stage and chaos begins.

I suggested we set up the mixing board so the FX Returns are plugged into open channels so you can control their volume with the faders rather than the FX Return knobs. I always turn the effects down in-between songs. (you also get EQ and other benefits) This makes it SOOO much easier to see in the dark clubs. I also use the sub-groups to assign drums, vocals, and other groups of mics their own fader that feeds directly to the Main Out or house out. If there is a problem with one group, you can quickly test by adjusting that sub-group fader and see if problem goes away. If not, return it to where it was and go to the next sub-group. This way you do not have to go through fader after fader searching for a bad signal or feedback loop. Once you narrow down the offending group, you will have a much better idea what the source is!

I would say most live performances the sound board is mixed to a Mono output. In smaller rooms or clubs, I loved running in stereo. I mixed for keyboard progressive bands a lot and the stereo keyboards and samplers consumed the rooms when mixed right. Not in volume——– The vocals (sometimes three sometimes five in the band) panned as well. Overkill in a way, but not much work and easy to arrange with equipment versatility. Most boards have stereo FX that can add lot to the imaging. But again, that is not the norm. So you can either set board up in stereo and have the Main Output plugged into the MONO OUT to your system, or you can mix to mono and use one Main fader or the other. That’s about it. We have covered the entire mixing board, in its basic format. Headphone outs, Tape or other inputs, on-board effects, Solo or Audition functions as well as digital features make new sections.

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 6 – Sound Reinforcement

Posted: March 9, 2015 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, music technology, technology
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #digital, #drums, #equipment, #FX, #keyboard, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #Midi, #music, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #tech, #vocals

This is another term that is often misunderstood and the results can be unpleasant for the audience and performers as well. This does not prevent the error from happening over and over. It doesn’t have to happen to you. At first glance the term is quite simple. In its simplest form it probably means “turn things louder”. And that may be the most widely used interpretation. But the phrase is not, ‘Sound Forcement‘…… it is reinforcement. If something is loud enough on stage, ……… wait for it ………. It DOES NOT need sound reinforcement. In a small room, the trumpet probably doesn’t need much – if any – volume reinforcement. (certainly not in the stage monitors and little if any in the house mix) The guitar player with 10 Marshall stacks in a thirty seat room probably does not need sound reinforcement. Well then, what does?

Simply enough, anything that is not run directly through an instrument amplifier on stage. This could be the sounds from the keyboards or tone devices, vocalists, special effects FX (usually effects are used in the house mix but can also be sent to the monitor sends) and back ground or other media tracks including the ‘tape’ input for your stereo music player used in our earlier post.

We will do better if we use this definition for both sound systems we have pulled together for this event. On stage, do not add anything to the monitor mix that is already loud on stage. Again there are exceptions and many performers will argue this point, but I try to keep the monitor sends clear of anything I do not need to reinforce. If it is a big stage and members are far apart – absolutely add a little of an instrument to the other monitor mix. Everyone needs to hear the other performers. Just do not add to all monitor mixes if you use multi-monitor sends. Smaller stages there is little advantage in sending amplified instruments or drum set channels to the monitor mix.

Now, look at the balance from the house point of view. Can you hear the reverb on the snare drum and mounted toms clearly? Is one vocalist drowning out the others? Is that trumpet (or cymbal crash or tambourine or Kick drum) not in the mix during the solo? Can the keyboard player hear the monitors or instrument amp really good but no one in the audience can hear them? Can solo performances be heard clearly above the mix?

Set and forget. There are a number of input sources you will be able to set once and leave alone. The drums should be set up properly during sound check and should not need fader, pan, EQ or volume adjustments during the typical event performance. So the easy ones are drum and percussion kits along with some keyboards and other tone generators. Brass, string or choir sections can also be set. Most of these groups can be balanced during sound check and you will never have to mess with them for the rest of the performance. That allows you to focus on the variations of vocal performers, solo instruments and ‘guest’ players. Make sure if you turn the instrument louder during a solo or energy section that you turn it back down when the section is over. Otherwise it is a race to the top and others will need to turn up to hear themselves comfortably. Then the rest of the group has to do the same to keep up with the neighbors on stage. It can get ugly at the top.

In small clubs or rooms, there is very little need for large PA systems and huge speakers. In many situations you will do fine to let the stage volume fill most of the room. Sometimes all I have to add is the keyboards and vocals, with the effects thrown in on top. I might bring up a guitar or other solo instrument in the mix, when the rest of the time that instrument fader is off completely in the house and monitor mix. It simply does not need sound reinforcement there.

In some gigs, a player can be loud enough on stage that you cannot increase over-all volume using the house system. They are so loud that the PA for a small club will have little effect. I have been known to take players completely out of the house mix.

I use simple guidelines and want to ensure that any and all performers will be heard in the house. This includes each percussion instrument to various keyboard textures and sounds. I keep all levels in balance so one instrument or group of instruments does not dominate the performance or mix. I make sure band members know they do not have to play loud on stage. All they have to do is play good and I will make it sound great in the house. You play; let me crank it up!

MidiMike

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American Indian – An Instrumental

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 16 – Coke or Pepsi? Mac or PC?

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 15 – And the other 20%

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 6 – Sound Reinforcement

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American Indian – An Instrumental

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